1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a system for fixing a panel to an edge of an element of a supporting structure, element such as a beam or a slab.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98
It is known to construct buildings comprising a supporting inner structure of concrete, steel or wood, and panels closing the free outer gaps between the elements of the structure. The panels have for example a height substantially equal to a height of a floor of the building, and are rigidly fixed, for example at the bottom to the edge of a floor slab and at the top to the edge of a ceiling slab.
Quick fastening systems have been developed in order to facilitate the fastening of the panel to the structure. These systems are generally based on flat metal parts suitably folded and secured by screwing, on the one hand, to the panel and, on the other hand, to the element of the structure.
In practice it is observed that an element of the structure, for example a beam or slab, may be deformed depending on the operating load applied to the said element. For example, the laying of floor tiles or the placing of furniture on a concrete slab can result into a vertical bending of the slab, which bending can reach 1 to 1.5 cm at the edge of the slab in the case of a concrete slab. This bending of the slab will cause disorders and/or transmit mechanical stresses onto the panels of the lower or higher floors, rigidly fastened to the edges of the slabs, with the risk of damaging one or more panels.
Also an earthquake-like seism can cause a significant horizontal displacement of a slab with respect to another one. If a panel is fixedly fastened to a slab and to the other one, the movement of a slab relative to the next one will also lead at best to a deformation of the panel, at worst to a setback of a panel. The current European earthquake-resistance standards provide that a building must be able to withstand, without separation of its main elements, the moving by 4.5 cm of a slab relative to the next one.
The systems for fastening panels known so far do not permit to keep this constraint.
It is also observed in the field of building that it is often difficult to obtain elements of a structure such as beams or slabs that have perfectly rectilinear edges over large lengths. This is particularly true for elements of a concrete structure. Thus, it is common to observe, in the concrete shell, tolerances in the range of 1 to 3 cm, compared to a perfect straight line. Since the panels themselves are perfectly flat, it is often difficult to correctly fasten a panel to a slab edge with the known rigid fastening systems.